


Till Death Do Us Part

by Queen_OfThe_Universe



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Ecklie is a control freak mayor, F/F, F/M, Gil is a Shepard, Inspired by The Highwayman - Alfred Noyes, M/M, Marriage, Nick is a cop, Posted to AO3 in 2020, Posted to ff.net in 2007, Same-Sex Marriage, Sara owns a grocery store, Teacher Greg, Willows Dance Studio, illegal laws getting passed because Ecklie can, small town, suspend your disbeliefs, violence at times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-10
Updated: 2007-08-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22336144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_OfThe_Universe/pseuds/Queen_OfThe_Universe
Summary: AU char deaths. Pairs: NG, MW, Yo!Bling. Nick and Greg finally decide to get married. But Ecklie’s changed the laws again and now they can’t. What will happen as they risk everything, even their friends lives, to go against the law?
Relationships: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes, Warrick Brown/Catherine Willows, Wendy Simms/Mandy Webster





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: AU. Warning: Character deaths. Full cast. Pairings: The Love, Mandy/Wendy, and Yo!Bling. Told mostly through the eyes of one unlikely witness who sees all and knows all: Lindsay.  
> I’m hoping everything here makes sense because it is AU. But I think it will. Most everything should be explained subtly over dinner in the first chapter. 
> 
> This was inspired by the poem _The Highwayman_ by Alfred Noyes!
> 
> Two things I should explain: in the tv show _Firefly_ , a Shepherd was what they called a minister or a priest. It means the same thing here, I just think it sounds better. 
> 
> I hope you like this, and please don’t forget to post reviews! I love to know how I’m doing. Thanks!

Greg Sanders ran up the stairs to his apartment, still dressed from a hard day at work. Looking at his watch he realized he had only fifteen minutes until they had to be at dinner. He thrust his key into the lock on his apartment door and was surprised when the door opened before he’d even turned the key or the knob. 

A most beautiful and familiar sight greeted him as Nick Stokes, also still dressed from his easy day at work, pulled him inside and planted a kiss on his lips before slamming the door shut. 

“Hurry up, G. We’re gonna be late!” Nick scolded when they pulled apart. 

“Sorry, I’m late. I had lots of papers to grade. You’re not wearing that, are you?” Greg asked, eyeing Nick’s dress clothes. 

“Why? What’s wrong with it? Why can’t I wear this to dinner?

“Because, this is a dinner for friends! We’re not going to a romantic dinner at some expensive restaurant. And even then....”

“Alright then, fine. What do you want me to wear?”

Greg ruffled through Nick’s clothes in the closet and pulled out his favorite tight black t-shirt and jeans. 

“Here,” he handed them to Nick. 

“Greg, wait. Look at you, you look so good in that, we should both just go as we are.”

“You really like it? You think I look good in this? Really?” Greg was surprised, yet again, and he could feel a happy flush creeping across his face. Nick liked his outfit? But of course he did. It wasn’t everyday he dressed this good.

“Really,” Nick came over to him. “But I have to admit, I am surprised. When do you ever go to work in a suit? I thought you hated suits and I thought you were always afraid of getting chemicals...”

Greg cut him off, “The kids had a test today, so no chemicals involved. I decided to look professorly and I also wanted to turn you on...”

“You sure did that last one alright,” Nick mumbled, leaning in for a quick kiss. “What was the test on?”

“Chemical compounds. Stuff you wouldn’t understand,” Greg said, wishing that Nick’s new job didn’t mean he got up after Greg had already left for work these days. A morning kiss like this was a wonderful wake-up call. 

“Ah, right. Of course.”

“I suppose since you like this look on me, you may keep what you’ve got on and we’ll both go dressed up.”

“Good.”

Out of the corner of his eye Greg saw the overnight bag sitting by the closet, already packed and ready to go. Nick turned to head for the door but Greg pulled him back, his face heating up. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach and knew his hands would be trembling in a moment or two. 

“What’s wrong, G?” Nick asked, concern on his face and in his voice. 

“Do you really have to leave right after dinner tonight?” his own voice sounded shaky and he was worried about turning Nick off to him. But he had to ask. 

“Are you saying you don’t want this after all?”

“No! Nicky, you know I want this. I want this more than anything in the entire world!” Greg’s nerves turned to excitement for just a second. “I just don’t understand why you have to go alone, without me.”

“Awwww, you know I’ll be back as soon as I can. Nothing could keep me from you forever.”

“No, it’s not really that, I mean, no one can resist the Sanders charm,” Greg said, the smile he’d been wearing fading fast. “I mean, I’m worried. He wants you alone. What if...”

“Hey, calm down. Everything’s gonna be ok. What he’s willing to do for us could get him sent to jail, or even killed. You know that. This can’t be a meeting of thousands to give it all away. It has to be secret.”

“But three people wouldn’t be obvious.”

“Greg, honey, I need you to stay here where I know it’s safe. If something happens to him, or me, at least I’ll know that you’re ok.”

“It shouldn’t have to be like that. And you know this place isn’t safe. For either one of us. Remember what Brass did to you last week? It’s a miracle you managed to find a new job so quick.”

His fingers began to tremble and Nick pulled him into his arms for a tight hug. 

“You know it wasn’t Brass’s fault I got kicked off the force. It went above his head. He told me himself that day if he’d had his way I would have stayed, no matter what.” 

“But us getting those papers won’t make any of this easier. You can’t stay at your current job forever. You don’t get paid enough. And it’s only a matter of time before I lose my job too because of it.”

“Hey,” Nick lifted Greg’s chin so that he could look into the younger man’s face. “You love your job. I love seeing the look on your face when you’re in that classroom teaching those kids. I will never let them take that away from you. I’ll find another job. And if I have to stay where I am, then I will.”

“But you loved your job too. Being a cop is what you were, what you are. And they took that away from you so easily. Not even those who support us could stop that. I just want us to be together and safe, Nick. I don’t know why I’m getting so worked up about this. It doesn’t matter whether you get those papers or not. People know, and we’re doomed either way.”

“The important thing is that you and I stick together. I’m happy at my job as long as I’ve got you beside me.”

Greg leaned in for another sweet kiss. When he pulled away there was a grin on his face.

“What? What’re you laughing at?”

“Willows Dance Studio, this is Nick, how can I help you?” Greg repeated the lines Nick had fed him upon answering the phone at work when he’d called the day before. 

“Hey, come on! Besides, that ballet stuff looks hard. I can’t imagine bending that way. It’s gotta hurt!”

“I’m sorry, Nicky. I love you, you know that right?” 

“Of course, G.”

“But that’s just funny. A guy working in a dance studio as a receptionist...it’s...cute...”

“Come on, Romeo, we need to hurry up or else Catherine’s gonna beat our asses if we’re late.”

“Correction, Warrick will beat our asses and Catherine will just stand by and watch with a smile on her face.”

A grin matching Greg’s creeping across his face, Nick took Greg’s hand in his and pulled his boyfriend out the door. 

* * *

  
Lindsay Willows, now Lindsay Willows-Brown, viewed herself as The Observer of the rest of the gang. Mainly because she was the youngest at the age of ten and though everyone was like family and saw her as their daughter or niece, they still didn’t always see her or pay attention to her. So, she paid attention to them instead. And she learned a lot, just by listening in. If they only knew what she was learning from them, her mother and step-father would both have a heart attack! 

Now, she sat at the large dinning room table, sandwiched between her mother and Archie. Only four seats were empty. The rest were filled with her parent’s closest friends: Bobby, Wendy, Mandy, Sara, Gil, Al, David, and Hodges. Her mother was getting a little anxious because she didn’t want to serve dinner until everyone had arrived. 

“Honey, sit down. I’ll bring in the dinner. I’m sure those two will be here shortly,” Warrick said as he stood up and headed into the kitchen. 

The unlocked front door opened just then and someone knocked on the doorframe and Nick’s voice rang out into the room, “Hello! Sorry we’re late!”  
Nick and Greg walked in, all dressed up as if they were going to a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. Both had radiant smiles on their faces as they took their seats next to

Al and David. 

“Oh! You two look great! Why on earth are you all dressed up?” Wendy asked, as everyone else was in jeans and casual shirts. 

Nick laughed, “He wanted to look professorly at school today, and somehow, I managed to convince him not to change.”

“Nice job, Nicky,” Catherine said. “But you’re late.”

“I’m sorry, but...”

“Cath, would you shut up,” her husband called from the kitchen. “Give those two a break. You know what’s going on.”

Warrick came out of the kitchen with a large pan of steaming hot lasagna and set it in the middle of the table before going back into the kitchen for the vegetables and side dishes. 

Catherine nodded, “he’s right. I’m sorry, guys. I shouldn’t be making this more nerve wracking than I’m sure it already is.” A smile spread across her lips. “So, are you guys excited?”

Greg’s eyes lit up like he truly could have been the Christmas tree that sat in their living room right then. And, in Lindsay’s mind he sure was handsome enough to stand in its place with presents surrounding his feet. But, then, Nick took the man’s hand in his own, squeezing it tight, and she knew he would never wait around for her to grow old enough. He couldn’t. He was in love, and it was a beautiful sight to behold!

“Yeah, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!” Greg exclaimed. He looked over at Gil seated at one end of the table. “Gil, are you still willing to do the ceremony on New Years Day for us?”

“Greg, of course I am! And would you stop asking every second, I’m not going to change my mind. At least not until pigs fly, and that will never happen.”

“Well, I just didn’t know, if, you know...you’d heard something from Ecklie...”

“No. I haven’t. But, I promise you, even if I did hear something from him, I would still do the ceremony.”

“You remember our ceremony?” Mandy asked, following Nick’s example and taking Wendy’s hand in her own. “He did ours, and it came out soooo good!”

“That’s not the point,” Warrick spoke up as he delivered the last of the food and sat down. 

Lindsay piped up right then, “Daddy, wait. Shepherd has to say Grace. Then you can finish your thoughts.”

Warrick, startled, looked up at the young girl and smiled. “You’re right.” He looked at Gil, “Shepherd?”

Gil Grissom nodded and stood up, his hands folded in front of him, and began to speak, “Dear Lord, may we ask that you bless this food that we are about to eat and that you please return Nick safely to Greg from his important journey. Amen.”

Everyone whispered an Amen and Lindsay noticed Nick and Greg still holding hands tightly. Gil sat down and everyone began digging into the food. 

“The point is,” Warrick continued, “that Ecklie can do what he wants, when he wants, to whomever he wants. And get away with it. He’s already ruined enough lives around here...we all know that. What’s one more to him? If he finds out that you’re performing a wedding ceremony for Nick and Greg he could have you sent to jail for it.”

“I’m not changing my mind, Warrick. These two deserve to be recognized legally as a couple, the same as Wendy and Mandy. They were just lucky enough to have it all done right after Sam Braun came into power and made it legal for them. But these two have found a way around the law, and all I have to say is more power to them.”

“Until Ecklie finds out,” Catherine spoke up. “I know he killed Sam to take over this little town. I just know he did. But there’s no proof and I’m not a cop or a lawyer who can say anything safely.”

“Yeah, well, even if you were,” Al said with a fork full of food half way to his mouth. “If you so much as thought that you were going to go against him, he’d kill you too. I know this is a small town and not many deaths occur here, but I am the coroner, still, and he did a damn good job hiding the evidence on Sam’s body. I couldn’t be sure myself if it was just an accident or real murder. Neither could David.”

Switching to a lighter topic, Nick said, “Yeah, we don’t have many deaths here cause you’re the doctor too, and you do a damn good job. When I broke my leg last year on the job, you had me up and walking in no time!”

“Are you sure you broke your leg on the job?” Sara asked with a smirk.

“Yes, I’m sure, Sara. I was chasing this perp down the street and when I caught up with him, I knocked him down, but he took me with him...”

Greg stared open mouthed and wide eyed. “Oh my God! Nicky! How could you?” he interrupted, over dramatizing his words. 

Nick looked at him in confusion. 

“You went down on a perp?! You...you....you cheated on me?! Already!” 

Seeing the look of horror on Nick’s face, Greg burst out laughing. Nick only shook his head with a smile. 

“So...Nick,” Hodges piped up. “When exactly are you leaving? And when are you coming back? I mean, you do realize that Christmas is the day after tomorrow, right?” The man had an interested gleam in his eye as if he was learning how to cheat a game of checkers.

“I know,” Nick sets his fork back down on his plate. “I’m leaving tonight, right after dinner, and hopefully, I’ll be back for Christmas morning.”

Hodges nodded, the cogs in his brain turning, though Lindsay didn’t know why he seemed to be over processing this particular piece of information. 

“But, that means you’ll miss Christmas Eve dinner with everybody!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, I will. I’m sorry sweetie. But I’ll do my best to get here for the actual Christmas dinner, ok?”

“You’d better be here, or else I’ll file for divorce!” Greg said with a wink. 

“Good, I’m glad you will be because this will be a momentous Christmas and everyone else will be here. Besides, I’ve already got a huge ham in the freezer. Oh, Warrick, remind me to take it out to thaw later, ok?”

“Already done.”

“You’re a sweetheart!”

“That’s good you’ve already got yours cause I’ve run out at the store and my supplier can’t bring me any more since he’s technically on holiday now,” Sara nearly scowled.   
Just then there was a knock at the door and Warrick got up to answer it. When he came back Captain Jim Brass and his second in command, Sophia Curtis were behind him. 

“Jim! Sophia! Glad you could join us!” Catherine welcomed them to the table. 

“Hey! You read Nick and I the riot act for arriving late, what about these two?” Greg asked. “They’re later than we were!”

“Yeah, but our job is a 24 hour job. We’re never off the clock, unlike you, Greggo,” Brass commented as he sat down. 

“I see your point.”

Sophia sat down beside her boss and passed the latest local newspaper around the table. 

“I’m sorry we’re coming with more bad news,” she said. “But Ecklie’s passed more laws. And they’re not good.”

The newspaper was passed over Lindsay’s head and she was disappointed that she wouldn’t be given an opportunity to read it for herself. But as always happened at dinners before, she knew they would talk about it, and in a round about fashion, she would learn what was going on. 

After reading it over for himself, Nick looked up at his now ex-boss, “so, you mean, no one’s allowed out after dark?” he asked. 

Jack pot!

“That’s right,” Captain Brass replied with a grim expression as he helped himself to some lasagna. 

“Wait, what does that mean in a medical emergency?” David spoke up, being Al’s assistant in everything that he did.

“That will have to be cleared through him at the time. If determined an emergency by him, then yes, you can go out. All working cops are allowed out at night. Have to enforce the laws, you know.”

“Yeah, right.” 

“These are...these are stupid! He’s tightening the leash he has on all of us!” Sara said unbelievably. “He’s telling me what I can and cannot do. Why does my grocery store have to be closed at a certain time just because he says so?”

“He’s the boss. That’s why.”

“I’m just glad he hasn’t decided to make all previously legal gay marriages illegal.”

“Believe me, he’s thinking about it. Long and hard. He wants to, I’m sure of it.”

It was then that Lindsay felt something from these people that she’d never felt before. Everyone was looking at Mandy and Wendy and at Nick and Greg. She knew what they were thinking. They were all afraid for their friends. Afraid that Ecklie might just pull the plug on all gay marriages, even if they’d been legal when they’d happened. From overhearing several conversations before, she knew that it was Sam, her grandfather, who’d made it legal in this small town for about a year before he’d died. When Ecklie came into power, he quickly changed the laws back. But those who’d been married when it was legal for a year, were still recognized as being such. 

She’d heard Catherine and Warrick talking about how the man Nick was going to see was going to be giving him the real documents that said he and Greg were officially recognized as married. But the date would be set within the year that it had been legal. It made her want to cry to think about everything they had to go through to be together and she hoped it would all work out, that they could live happily ever after in the end and not get hurt by Ecklie. 

“I honestly hate to say this,” Brass spoke up again, “but really, the only people I trust in this town, in this whole town, are those sitting at this table right now. It still boggles my mind how over half a town voted this guy into office after Sam died so that he could come up with crazy laws like this to ruin our lives. But they support him, even the rest of the police force. They all agree to whatever he says. I can’t get over it. It’s like they’ve been brainwashed or something.”

The mood had turned somber and Lindsay was sure that not even one of Greg’s famous, make everyone laugh jokes couldn’t lighten the mood. 

“I’m sorry guys,” Nick said looking at his watch. “But we’ve gotta get out of here. It’s getting late.”

For a second a look of pure panic covered Greg’s face, but Nick’s hand on his arm seemed to calm him in moments as everyone wished him well, glad to be on another topic. Conversations bubbled up around the table, but Lindsay was only interested in the one on the other side. Brass had gotten up to talk privately to Nick before he and Greg left. She could just barely make out their words and was glad Greg didn’t seem to be paying attention as he graciously thanked her mother for dinner. 

“Nick, promise me you’ll be careful out there when you leave?” Brass asked. “I know you said you were leaving tonight the last time we talked.”

“Yeah, I will. And I still am. Though after reading that paper...” Nick trailed off. 

“Night is the best time to go. Undercover. You’d still be suspicious in the middle of day, around here in times like these. Just go and be careful. Come back in one piece. You planning on carrying when you go?”

“I wasn’t. Didn’t want to scare Greg. But if you think I should, then I will.”

“Yeah, I think it would be good. I want you back here, to keep him happy, Nick. Remember I know what he’s like when he’s not happy, when you’re not around. I don’t want to have to deal with that,” Brass smiled slightly.

“Right. I won’t forget,” Nick returned the faint smile as Greg caught his arm and escorted him out of the room, waving over his head at the friends they were leaving behind.

Though she didn’t know why, Lindsay felt something odd in the pit of her stomach. Something hard. Like a rock. Something that made her sad to see them go.


	2. Chapter 2

Greg pulled Nick into their apartment and shut the door, locking it behind them. He turned to face Nick and pushed him up against the wall, kissing him hungrily on the lips. Nick savored in the long, sweet kiss, drinking Greg in, not wanting to let him go as he encircled Greg’s waist, holding him tight. 

“I’m gonna miss you, Stokes,” Greg whispered, his face just inches from Nick’s.

“That’s Sanders-Stokes, to you Greggo.”

Greg smiled. “I like that. I really do.”

“You better.” Nick gave him a quick kiss. “Sadly, though, you’ve gotta let me go here. I still need to change before I go.”

Greg let Nick go with a sad puppy look in his eyes. Nick went into their bedroom, Greg following close behind, and picked up the clothes his boyfriend had dropped earlier. He smiled at what he’d picked out for him to wear. He knew Greg was standing in the doorway watching him as he quickly changed out of his dress clothes and into the jeans and tight black t-shirt Greg had wanted him to wear earlier. 

When he turned around he saw tears in his lover’s eyes. 

“Honey, I thought we agreed yesterday that there would be no tears?”

Nick was at his side in seconds, wiping them away with his thumbs. 

“I’m sorry,” Greg said with a smile. “I’m just so happy right now. I can’t help it,” he laughed. “I can’t believe this is really happening!”

“Me neither,” Nick said quietly, pulling his boyfriend into a hug. “Me neither.”

Nick’s heart swelled with a happiness he’d never known before meeting and falling in love with Greg. This was the best thing that had ever happened to him in his entire life. 

He was already packed and ready to go. The only other thing things he needed were his jacket and the gun he’d promised his ex-boss he’d carry with him. He wanted to sneak the gun out of the apartment without Greg noticing. He didn’t need to worry Greg in the least. He was already doing more for this union than the young chemistry teacher knew about, he didn’t need to make things worse. 

“Hey, babe, can you go find my jean jacket for me while I finish packing?” Nick asked, letting Greg go.

“Yeah, sure.”

As soon as his boyfriend was out of sight he reached into his night stand and brought out his spare gun. He unzipped his overnight bag.

“It was right where you always leave it in the...” Greg stopped. 

Nick looked up into Greg’s wide eyes, suddenly filled with fear, his boyfriend standing in the doorway, eyes on the gun he was packing. Shit. His plan hadn’t worked. Now Greg would be worried about him and scared. Not what he needed, or wanted. Quickly he slid the gun into his bag and stood up. 

“Nick?” Greg’s voice trembled. “Why?”

Nick placed his hands on Greg’s arms and looked into his eyes. 

“It’s just a precaution Brass wanted me to take, honey. Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that. Ecklie’s making all these crazy rules, he could catch you and have you arrested and, and....”

“Shhhhhh, don’t worry about it,” Nick soothed, pulling him into another hug. 

“I can’t help it, Nicky. I want this more than you could possibly know. But not if it means losing you.”

“You’re not gonna lose me. No matter what happens, I’m always yours.”

This was making his leaving much harder than he’d wanted. 

“I’ll be back by Christmas. No later. And it’s gonna be the best Christmas you’ve ever had.”

“You’d better be right.”

Nick pulled away, taking the jacket from Greg, and picking up his bag. It was now or never. He knew if this conversation continued he would never get out of there and everything they’d been dreaming of would never happen.

“Text me when you get close. That way I can dry my eyes from missing you before you arrive.”

Nick smiled. “I’ll give you five minutes Greggo.”

“That’s not enough time for me to get pretty for you,” Greg said, batting his eyelashes. 

“You don’t have to. You’re always beautiful to me, no matter what.”

Nick leaned in and gave him a long sweet kiss, keeping his eyes locked on Greg’s. He watched the fear and worry slip away from Greg while happiness and love replace them. 

“I love you,” Greg whispered when they parted.

“I love you too, G.”

And Nick was out the door, making a dash for his car, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t get caught and that Greg would be ok while he was gone. 

* * *

  
Lindsay sat in the livingroom in one of the large comfortable wing chairs she liked to curl up in with a good book. Everyone else who hadn’t left yet was there taking up the furniture, but they too, were slowly leaving. Everyone was talking about Christmas and Nick and Greg’s wedding happening the following week. 

“Well guys, it was a great dinner, thanks Cath and Warrick for having us over,” Wendy said getting up and pulling Mandy with her. “But we’ve gotta get going. Lots of work to do, and we need to open up shop early tomorrow.”

Mandy snorted. “Yeah, if Ecklie will let us. Folks, this is just to teach you all to buy your Christmas and wedding presents early because if we can’t be open late, you’re out of luck. Next year, buy them months in advance.”

“Yeah, right,” Warrick laughed. “Well, it was good having you, as always.”

“And don’t forget tomorrow night and Christmas!” Lindsay’s mother reminded them.

“Don’t worry, we won’t.”

The couple left and the conversation resumed. 

“I got Mandy for the Secret Santa thing, and I still don’t know what to get her!” Archie complained. “I mean, she owns the only gift shop in town! What am I going to do?”

“Well, you could get her a gift card to the attached coffee shop,” Bobby suggested. 

“I can’t do that! Mandy’s MARRIED to the woman who owns it so she gets free coffee there whenever she wants.”

“Right, good point. Well, then I don’t know what you’re gonna do.”

“Those two sure are lucky they got hitched when Sam was in charge around here. Just wait until Ecklie determines they aren’t legally together anymore. That’s not gonna be pleasant,” Catherine said.

“Well, Ecklie hasn’t yet said you couldn’t leave town, guess you’ll just have to find something outside of town, like Nick’s doing for Greg,” Al Robbins said. 

“Guess I’ll have to. By the way, what’s anyone getting them for their wedding? I still haven’t a clue on that either. I mean, they’ve been living together already for a long time. Don’t they already have everything they need?”

“Well, Nick’s from Texas. You could get him a riffle. I know he’s been eyeing a few in the store,” Bobby suggested. “I can point out which ones they are.”

“I can’t get him a riffle! It’s their wedding, it has to be for both of them! Gosh, Bobby, I was hoping you’d have better advice than that.” Archie sighed. “These holidays are rough, and Ecklie’s not helping.”

“Hey, Arch,” Lindsay’s mom spoke up. “What about that new entertainment system you just got in? Surely you must have a few of those lying around the back of your shop.”

“Yeah, sure I’ve got a few of them. Not many though, I’m sure hardly anyone in this town could afford them, they’re so expensive. And I can’t afford to lower the price.”

“That’s fine,” Al said. “Cause I wasn’t sure what to get them either. Why don’t we all chip in and get that for them?”

David, Al’s assistant, heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I like that idea. I didn’t know what to get either. This I can do.” 

The young doctor looked around at everyone else, his eyes pleading with them to agree. 

Several others took to the idea and Lindsay smiled, knowing Greg would be over excited, jumping up and down, and Nick would just be glad to get away from their old twelve inch screen. They didn’t even have a DVD player and with Nick out of a job, she knew they would never get one any time soon unless everyone chipped in. She remembered the last time she’d been inside Johnson Electronics. He’d just gotten the new system, and she’d stood there in awe staring at the huge flat screen tv, surround sound speakers, a DVD and VHS player as well as several different video game players. She smiled to herself. It was a sweet deal and she couldn’t wait to see their reaction when they got it. 

“Guys, I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta get to bed soon so I can open the store early,” Sara stood up. “I’m sure even you, Catherine, forgot to buy something for that big Christmas dinner you’ll want tomorrow at six in the morning.”

Gil Grissom looked at his watch and stood up along with her. 

“I should get going too. I still have to prepare the Christmas sermon.”

As the two left Lindsay saw Hodges get up without a word and slip out the front door with them. No one else seemed to notice and he didn’t say a word of goodbye, just looked quickly around the room at each person before he left. 

Catherine looked at her watch and then over at Lindsay. 

“Linds, you need to get to bed. It’s getting late.”

“Awww, Mom!”

This was not the time to have to go to bed. Being a kid sucked sometimes, and this was definitely it. The livingroom was where the party was, and that’s where she wanted to be. Besides, she was hardly tired at all.

“Come on, you heard your mother, let’s go,” Warrick took Lindsay’s hand and pulled her out of the chair. 

He wrapped his right hand around her ankles and swung her up into the air as she giggled.

“Daddy! Put me down!”

Everyone laughed. 

“Nope. I can’t do that. Sorry, honey. Besides, you and I still have some present wrapping to finish. Right?”

“You’re not supposed to announce that to the world! Mom’s not supposed to know!”

“Know what?” Catherine asked. “I have no clue what you two are talking about.”

* * *

  
Outside the moon was out, lighting up the dark landscape around the apartment building with a faint light. Hodges left the building, careful to make sure no one was following him or had seen where he was going. Out in the backyard he kept to the wall of the building until he came to the high black metal fence. On the other side a medium sized man in dark clothing stayed hidden in the tall bushes surrounding him. 

“Eddie,” Hodges greeted. 

“Hodges,” Catherine’s ex-husband dead-panned. “You got anything for Ecklie?”

“Nick’s leaving tonight. Probably already gone by now. But he’s coming back on Christmas. Greg’s staying home alone in the meantime. Now how much does that get me?”  
Eddie passed a wad of bills through the black metal bars. Only seconds after Hodges had taken it both men were gone into the darkness. 

* * *

  
In her dark bedroom a short while later Lindsay sat up in bed and her small nine year old voice whispered, “Dear God, please make sure Nicky comes home safe. And please Make sure he and Greggo can live happily ever after.”


	3. Chapter 3

Greg leaned against the wall as the apartment door shut quietly behind Nick. He heard the locks click and his boyfriend’s steps as he walked away down the hall. The place seemed sad and lonely all of a sudden without Nick there but a smile crept across his face. By Christmas he’d be a married man. His breath came in short gasps and his chest heaved when he realized that not so many years ago he’d thought this would never happen to him. In fact, he hadn’t even wanted to get tied down at all. 

But then he’d gotten a job teaching eleventh grade chemistry in this tiny town. He smiled as he remembered moving in. He’d been speeding through town. Going seventy-five miles an hour in a sixty mile an hour zone. His grin widened, as he saw the police cruiser pulling out into the road behind him in his mind with its lights flashing. He’d dutifully pulled over, never expecting such a hot cop to be issuing him a speeding ticket. 

Greg shouldered off the wall and went back to the bedroom where he collapsed onto his side of the bed. Opening his top night stand drawer he pulled out a small slip of paper and unfolded it carefully, so as not to tear it in half. It was a speeding ticket alright, but it made him smile even more. That wasn’t his name on the ticket, nor was that his address and phone number: Nick Stokes  
39 Ulster County Road Apt. 9  
Johnston, NY  
(331) 555-5925

When the cute officer had handed him the ticket, saying he didn’t normally give out tickets because most people didn’t speed this badly, he swore he thought he’d seen the man wink at him. And when he’d finally gotten home to his new apartment he realized he’d been right as he scrutinized the ticket.

That had been the best day of his life and now, Greg couldn’t wait for Nick to get back on Christmas, for New Year’s Day to arrive. Gil Grissom, the town Shepherd, had promised over and over again that he would do their simple ceremony, no matter what. 

Greg slid the speeding ticket back into the drawer and turned onto his back, closing his eyes and dreaming of that day that would be there in about a week. Personally it didn’t matter what anyone wore that day. The important part was that he and Nick were married and all their friends would be there to recognize it. However, Nick wanted them to be dressed up. This was a special occasion after all. So, Greg had made him a deal. He would get to pick out the cake and how it was decorated and everyone, including himself, would be dressed up for Nick. Wendy baked everything for her coffee shop, so, invariably she always ended up baking the cakes for any special occasion happening throughout the town. Greg remembered contacting her about their wedding cake and she’d been more than happy to make it for them. He smiled to himself, knowing Nick would like his choice of cakes. It was going to be a large white heart and on it, there would be two wedding bands linked together in gold icing and underneath those it would say “Nicholas and Gregory Sanders-Stokes,” nothing more, nothing less. It would be just as simple as the ceremony. He knew Nick thought he was going to get some wild flaming red job that was just as crazy as he was sometimes, but Wendy promised to keep the secret so he could surprise his husband on their wedding day. 

He grinned, seeing Nick, dressed handsomely in his tux, a look of shock on his face when he would first see the cake and realize it’s not what he thought Greg would pick out. But he knew the look of shock would pass quickly and a smile replaces it as Nick turns to face Greg and leans forward for a long sweet kiss, their audience cheering them on. 

* * *

  
It was finally Christmas Eve and Lindsay was excited. Not only would she get to set out the presents she’d bought for her mom and step-dad under the tree but she would also get to see Greg for lunch with her dad at Wendy’s café in town, as well as everyone else for dinner at their apartment again that night. 

She didn’t mind her mom kicking them out of the house so that she could finish wrapping Christmas presents and get started on the large dinner she had planned for that night. Warrick, she noticed however, did look a little hurt and sad that his wife was pushing him out the door so she could have the whole place to herself for awhile. But Lindsay just smiled cheerfully, and pulled on his arm, dragging him out the door. 

“Christmas is tomorrow!” she exclaimed when they’d gotten into the car. “You should be happy! Besides, it’s going to be the best Christmas ever because Nick’s gonna be back and he and Greg will be happy. And wait till you see what I got you and Mom!”

“Oh dear,” Warrick said, a mock frown covering his face. “I’m sorry, Linds, but...with everything going on lately, we forgot to get you anything for Christmas. And...and I don’t think either one of us remembered to remind Santa to make a stop here.”

“Dad! I know you guys got me stuff. Mom just kicked us out of the house so she could finish wrapping it all!”

“No, actually she kicked us out because she’s trying to finish work for dinner tonight, and she doesn’t want my help.”

“So, maybe it was a little of both. She didn’t want your help because she needed you to distract me so she could wrap my presents. And Santa is just a figment of the world’s imagination. There’s no way one guy could carry enough presents on one sleigh, in one bag, for the entire world and be able to deliver them all in one night.”

“Actually, it is possible. You see, there are different time zones all over the world. So, while it’s noon here right now, in California it’s still only nine in the morning. So, he’d have plenty of time to deliver all the presents, and go back to his house to refill the sleigh.”

“Riiiight. Sure, Dad. Maybe you should have been a physics teacher instead of a gym teacher.”

“Maybe. And I could spend the whole year teaching everyone about my theories on Santa Clause. That’ll go over real well!”

Lindsay laughed with Warrick. 

“Look, there’s a parking space right there,” she said pointing towards the empty space next to Greg’s old silver Jetta parked in front of the combined café and gift shop. 

Warrick pulled in and through the window they could easily see Greg already sitting at a table with a large cup of steaming coffee in front of him. He sat hunched over it as if it was his last friend on the whole planet. Lindsay bounded out of the car as soon as she got the chance and ran into the café. 

“Hey, Greg!” she greeted, realizing he was the only customer in the café.

His frown turned into a brilliant smile and she couldn’t help but feel jealous of Nick. He was so lucky to have a guy like Greg, especially when he could light up a whole room with just his smile alone. 

“Hey, man,” Warrick said, as he sat down. “I thought I saw the saddest frown on your face a moment ago and now you’ve lit up everything around you.”

“Nah, I just hate waking up alone, you know? But I’m happy to see you guys, and I’m excited about seeing Nick tomorrow of course!”

“Well, now that Nick’s out of the police force, waking up without him shouldn’t be an issue any more. No more late nights and early mornings for him.”

“That’s true, but now he works for Catherine, and her place doesn’t open till later in the morning, after school’s started and doesn’t close till later at night. So, now, he’s sound asleep as a rock when I get up.”

“Sorry about that. When I see my wife again, I’ll have to tell her to amend her hours.”

“You do that and I’ll love you forever!”

“No. Please. Save all the lovin’ for Nick. He needs it more than I do.”

They both laughed and Lindsay giggled. 

“So, what’ll it be boys?” Wendy asked, coming over to their table, a note pad and pen in her hand. 

Lindsay glared at her. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Linds. Let me fix that.”

Wendy walked back to the counter behind the cash register and then came back to their table. “So, what’ll it be boys and girl?”

The young girl smiled this time. “I think I can let that pass this time.”

“Oh good. I was afraid you might make me do it over and over again until I get it right. And then you’d never get your food,” she joked. 

She looked at them questioningly, her pen poised over the paper. 

“The usual,” all three of them said at once, and then they all broke into laughter. 

“Ok, that would be one Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap for Greg, one turkey sandwich loaded with everything for Warrick, and one ham and cheese sandwich for Lindsay. Drinks, let me guess...Cokes all around?”

The three of them nodded and she rushed off to the small kitchen to get started, not even bothering to write anything down. 

“This is going to be the best Christmas ever!” Greg exclaimed, as soon as Wendy was out of sight. “I bet Cath has the biggest plans in the world!”

Warrick looked a little sad. “Yeah, she probably does. But she kicked us out of the house so she can work on things alone. I wish I could help, but she doesn’t want any.”

“Oh, I can’t wait for Nicky to come home, you have no idea! That’s the best Christmas present I could ever get!” 

The light shining from Greg’s eyes was so bright and happy, Lindsay thought she should have brought her sunglasses with her.

“You know,” Warrick began, obviously trying not to feel miffed about being kicked out of the house. “I still wonder how you got that job teaching chem in the first place. I mean, you’re still a kid yourself sometimes, no matter what your actual age might be. You could be ninety but no one would know it or even guess at it.”

“I think that’s why I got the job,” Greg said with a short laugh. “I can relate to the kids, make them want to do the work more than a ninety year old man in an old suit and a bow tie.”

“I think he’s right Dad,” Lindsay spoke up. “I can’t wait to get to eleventh grade because then I’ll be in his chemistry class! And that’s going to be so much fun!”

Warrick’s face fell. “But, honey, what about gym? Don’t you like playing basketball in gym class? Don’t you want to take gym with me?”

Lindsay’s face turned a light shade of red. “Sorry Dad. But I don’t really like gym class very much. I’m horrible at anything, I trip over myself, hit the other kids accidentally with the ball. It’s not much fun. But see, I’ve been watching a lot of CSI shows on tv lately and I’ve decided I want to be a DNA Analyst in a CSI lab when I grow up. And for that you need to know lots and lots of chemistry!”

“Wait...what’s CSI?” Warrick asked. 

“Crime Scene Investigator,” Brass said as the front door to the café shut behind him and he walked over to their table. “And I bet you’d make a great CSI, Linds. You notice everything going on around you. And believe me, we need one around here. We always have to call in the guys from the city every time something happens and they hate it. You’d be a great addition to our police force.”

“Jim, the reason you don’t have your own CSI on the force is because this is a small town. You can’t afford one. That, and there aren’t enough bad happenings to get one,” Lindsay clarified. 

Brass looked taken aback for a moment. 

“Well, alright then. Forgive me for trying to give you a job!”

“You couldn’t pay me enough for it to be worth it.”

“Linds,” Warrick pried her away from Brass for a moment. “When on earth do you watch this crazy stuff on tv? You’re not allowed to stay up late and I thought you still watched kid shows.”

“Daaaaaad! It’s good stuff! Right Greg?”

Greg’s eyes widened as he looked from Lindsay to her step-dad. 

“I’m not gonna say anything about that in particular. But what CSIs do, is actually cool. And so is DNA stuff, though that’s also a lot of biology, Linds. Well, it’s all science, really.”

“Ha, see if I let you babysit ever again,” Warrick smirked. 

“Well, then, Greggo, you’re going to have a lot of teaching to do when I get to highschool. Maybe you should start early. Like, right after Christmas!”

“Honey, I think he’s going to be a little busy right after Christmas,” Warrick said. 

“Oh yeah, right. So, later on then.”

“Yeah, later on,” Greg agreed with a wide grin. “But remember when you get to highschool, only Nicky gets to call me Greggo. You will be stuck with Mr. Sanders.”

“I wish it could be Mr. Sanders-Stokes,” she said. “It’s not fair.”

Everyone quietly agreed with her as Wendy came back out from the kitchen and saw Brass at their table. She hustled over with a brown paper bag and a steaming hot cup of coffee. 

“Here you go, one ‘usual’ to go.”

“Ah, Wendy, you’re amazing!”

He took the bag in his hand and dug into his pocket for some bills to pay for his lunch.

When she was gone again, to get the other ‘usuals’ for Greg, Warrick, and Lindsay, Brass turned to Greg. 

“You know I support you and Nick all the way, right?”

Greg looked up at him and nodded.

“Of course. You’ve said so before, why should now be any different?”

“Besides Sophia, I’m the only other person in the department that knows what’s going on and I’m intending for it to stay that way. But, I have heard mumbles that something’s going to happen. I don’t know what. I don’t know when. But I have a strong suspicion it has something to do with you two. So, just be careful, ok? I would suggest you not go anywhere alone, if you can help it, at least until Nick gets back.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Don’t worry, we’re all going home after this. We’ll follow you, Greg,” Warrick said.

The expression on the chem teacher’s face clearly said he was worried, but also that he was relieved. Relieved probably because the action seemed to be happening at home, and not where Nick was. 

“Thanks Warrick.”

Brass turned to go, but changed his mind. 

“Oh, and Greg, you know Nick was the best cop we had in the department. I wouldn’t have let him go if I didn’t have to.”

“I know,” Greg nearly whispered, lost in his thoughts. 

“Warrick, Sophia told me to tell Catherine that she’s going to try to get to dinner tonight but she might have to work. You know, the way things are going these days, at least one of us has to stay working to keep the law balanced somewhat.” Brass sighed. “That goes for me too.”

Warrick nodded and said he’d let Catherine know. 

Brass tried to rumple Lindsay’s hair but she batted his hand away. 

“A CSI in the making. I should have known!” Brass shook his head and chuckled as he headed for the door. 

Wendy came back out of the kitchen as the door slammed shut again with three plates balanced on one arm and a tray of drinks on the other. 

* * *

  
  
Greg was glad to get back home after lunch. Captain Brass’s words had stuck in his head and worried him. Talk seemed to have spread about him and Nick all the way to the police station and he was sure it hadn’t been Jim or Sophia who’d said anything. In fact none of their friends would have. They all knew how important it was to keep this secret. 

Slumping down on the bed he saw Nick’s old Texas A&M sweatshirt in the laundry basket and went to get it. He ended up changing completely into his favorite pair of comfy jeans, socks, and Nick’s sweatshirt before collapsing back onto the bed. He smiled, leaning his head into his shoulder to smell the sweatshirt. Closing his eyes he felt like Nick was there beside him. He wished he could just roll over and drape his arm over his boyfriend, soon to be husband, but the scent on his shirt would have to do until he came back the next day. Greg liked the idea of his boyfriend, soon to be husband. He supposed that meant Nick was technically his fiancé, but the term just didn’t seem to fit right. ‘Boyfriend’ was much cuter and sweeter. And he liked saying it more...

Greg smiled and wondered how Nick was doing and where he was. Nick had told him a few days before when he was planning the trip that it would be best if Greg didn’t call him, for safety reasons. If he hadn’t, Greg would have been on the phone a long time ago, needing to hear the sound of Nick’s voice, to know how things were going. But he wouldn’t know until Nick got back. Greg had asked him to text him when he got close to home, and now he found himself wishing he’d told him to just call. But tonight he was having dinner with all their friends, and by tomorrow the long wait would be over. 

He imagined how it would happen when Nick got back. He knew he’d be ready to pounce on him the moment he walked in the door, covering him with kisses. 

A loud knock sounded at the door, bringing Greg out of his thoughts. He sighed and got up, figuring it was just Warrick reminding him about dinner again. But when he opened the front door, he wasn’t greeted with his coworker at the highschool. Instead, he found five of his boyfriend’s ex-coworkers standing there with smug looks on their faces each holding a gun aimed at Greg The first held a pair of handcuffs dangling from one finger. 

“Um....what’s going on guys?” Greg asked, eyes wide, as he took in the weapons.

“Let’s just say you’re under arrest,” the first officer said, barging into the small apartment.

Greg’s hands flew above his head to show he meant them no harm, as he backed away from them.

“Wh...what for?” his voice was already starting to shake. 

“What do you think?” the last officer came into the livingroom, shut the door behind him and locked it tight. “What you’re doing is against the law and you’re going to be punished for it. You and Nick both. We’ve got orders from Ecklie himself.”

Brass had been right earlier.

The first officer backed Greg up to the wall, before grabbing his wrist and throwing him across the room. Greg landed in the bedroom doorway with a thud. A light moan escaped his lips and he imagined the large bruise he’d have on his shoulder waiting for Nick when he got home. A foot connected with his back, sending a sharp pain throughout his body. 

“Get up and move!” a voice behind him shouted. 

He stumbled to his feet and a hand roughly pushed him forward. Several pairs of hands grabbed him then, and forced him onto the bed he shared with Nick. He landed face down. Someone held his head down into the comforter so that he could barely breath as other hands threw handcuffs around his wrists and ankles. He was forced upright again and pushed against the wrought iron headboard where his wrists were cuffed to the iron behind him. 

Laughter...someone was laughing. Greg looked up to see one of the police officers actually laughing at him. They had him right where they wanted him, so they could taunt him, make him the butt of their jokes. He felt humiliated and ashamed, but he didn’t know why. What had he done that was so illegal? That would warrant their laughter? And then it hit him like a gale force wind. He was marrying Nick. Of course.

He held his chin up high, proud of the fact that he had found someone who could tie him down, someone who loved him for who he was, as they tied a long riffle to his body, the mouth pushing into his chest. He kept his head up even as they jeered at him and pretended to pull the riffle’s trigger. He stared unblinking out the window at a lone tree in the front yard of the apartment complex and did his best to ignore their words. He couldn’t let them hurt him. He had to be strong, for Nick. He wouldn’t wimp out on his boyfriend. Not now. Not ever. 

Another knock sounded at the front door and a relief surged through him. It was Warrick, or someone else come to ask him something, to remind him about dinner, anything, as long as they figured out what was going on and were able to get Captain Brass’s help. Someone opened the door and another person was admitted into the apartment. Greg turned his head when the two came into the bedroom and his eyes opened wide in shock. Conrad Ecklie stood there, grinning like an evil wolf about to attack its prey and enjoy the meal. 

“Sanders,” he greeted. 

Greg didn’t return the greeting. If Ecklie was going to use his last name he’d have preferred the hyphenated version: Sanders-Stokes. But that was a secret only known by their close friends. Though apparently Ecklie knew some of the secret already. 

“Sanders-Stokes, I believe, is the correct name now, or will be soon enough,” Ecklie surprised him, yet again, knowing more than he’d thought. “But that won’t last long. After all, that would be illegal, wouldn’t it now?”

Ecklie stood over him, fixing him with the glare he’d grown to hate so much. It made him feel insignificant, like an ant on the sidewalk the man wouldn’t hesitate to squish to get what he wanted.

“You little twerp. What did you think? That you could possibly get away with this little stunt?”

Actually, yes, he had. But he’d been wrong, and now all he wanted was to have Nick back, papers or no. He felt his pride waning a little, and he lowered his gaze to the handcuffs around his ankles. 

“Well, you can’t. I know all, and see all. And you will not get away with this. In fact, by holding you hostage here, Stokes will come for you and we’ll get you both. It’ll be messy, sure. But it’ll send a message out to anyone else who thinks they can do what you tried to do. First thing we’ll do when we catch him is to torture you, while he watches, helpless, unable to save his bonny lass. Then we’ll make you watch while we torture him. And no, it won’t be pleasant.”

In one fluid motion Conrad Ecklie had brought his gun out from behind his back and pistol whipped Greg across the face. The pain seared him as if he’d been burned, but he held on tight to his senses, keeping his head bowed to ensure no more pain was brought to him. Greg wasn’t afraid for himself. He was more afraid for Nick, because Nick would be walking into an ambush, a trap. If there was a way to get a warning out to him, to ensure he wouldn’t come back, to save him somehow... Surely their friends would know something was going on when he wouldn’t show up for dinner that night. They would get word out to Nick. 

“Don’t count on your friends, Sanders,” Ecklie’s voice reached his ears. “We’ve got them all rounded up. They’re being looked after. They won’t be talking to anyone else any time soon. And your sweet little Nicky will fall into our trap. We’ll break him so easily, he’ll never be the same again. He’ll be a pile of mush when we’re done with him and no one will want him then,” Ecklie sneered. 

That line Greg remembered from elementary school was true and he hated having to learn it the hard way. Sticks and stones might break his bones, but words would surely break his heart. He pictured Nick being brought into the room, hands cuffed behind his back. He saw the look of anger on his husband’s face when they turned him to see Greg tied to the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks, over the many whip lashes he’d received, from their talk of hurting Nick. He knew their lives would never be the same and he prayed that Nick would stay away and never come back. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Warning, if you cry easily, get that Kleenex box now! This chapter will not end nicely. I understand if you would prefer to go no further and thank you for reading thus far. There will be one more chapter after this, and then sadly, the story must come to an end. So, read on, enjoy, and don’t forget to post reviews! Thanks!

Lindsay sat on the floor of her parents large apartment, her back against the white wall of the livingroom where the doorframe of her bedroom jutted out from it. It wasn’t very comfortable, but there wasn’t much she could do with her hands tied behind her back. It didn’t help that her cell phone was in the back pocket of her khaki pants digging into her. She wished she’d thought of a better place to put it after the last time she’d used it. But even though she could reach it now, she didn’t dare pull it out for fear it would be taken away from her and she had a feeling she might need it later. 

She tried to be as observant as possible for Captain Brass and Detective Curtis later on. She knew they would be wanting details and she wouldn’t be caught lacking in any. To her right her step-father, Warrick, was seated on the floor, back against the wall and handcuffed. On his other side, sat her mother, Bobby, Archie, Gil, Al, David and Sara. Standing above them, riffles resting on their shoulders nine millimeters in their holsters, were Nick’s ex-coworkers. Lindsay was glad Sophia and Jim were not among them. She wasn’t dumb, she knew the reason, remembering the conversation over dinner the night before. Those two were on the right side of the law, everyone else on the force wasn’t. Carefully she made note of the names on the officers uniforms so she could rat them out later. 

The front door opened and Wendy, Sara, and Hodges were manhandled into the room by three more cops. She made note of their names too. 

“I still don’t see the need for this!” Hodges complained. 

The two women were silent as they took in the sight of their friends and the seriousness of the situation. They were pushed to the floor and fell with relative gracefulness even with the handcuffs keeping their hands behind their backs.

“You don’t see the need?” the officer behind Hodges asked. “You don’t see the need? You must have a thicker head than we all thought. Just do your job.” 

The cop pushed Hodges forward into the livingroom toward an open space against the far wall. 

“What’s going on?” Mandy asked. “Why are you doing this? Why are we all here?”

“Just keep your mouth shut and we won’t have to hurt you,” was all they were told by Officer Bradly.

Eyes stared at the cop in shock at his words. No one said anything. 

But Lindsay knew what was going on. All of her parent’s friends were present. All except four. Two of them held high ranks within the police force and the other two were getting married on New Years Day. So far the cops had brought in everyone they could except Greg, who was alone in his apartment. She felt bad for him because she knew he’d be an easy target. If they wanted him they would have gotten him already. Which meant they were keeping him away from everyone else on purpose. And that left Nick alone, out in the world, with no clue what was going on back home. Chances were, even Jim and Sophia were clueless, wherever they were. Now, Lindsay was glad she didn’t have many friends her own age and had spent so much time with the adults. This was all about Nick and Greg’s relationship, plain and simple. She could understand everything and no one would suspect a thing. It would all work to her advantage somehow. 

Looking over the group sitting on the floor everyone wore confused expressions on their faces and some were scared. Some stared at the floor, some watched the cops, and Hodges just looked furtively at everyone else on the floor with him. He didn’t look confused, or scared. And Lindsay made a mental note to remember that and to keep an eye on him. He was the one the cop had told to do his job. Whatever that was. Lindsay thought about it long and hard. Her step-father was the local highschool gym teacher, her mother owned the dance studio, Sara owned the local grocery store, Al and David were the coroners and doctors of the town, Archie owned the electronics and entertainment shop, Bobby owned the gun shop, Mandy and Wendy owned the combo café and gift shop, Greg was the chemistry teacher and Nick had been a police officer until he’d been kicked off the force for being gay and now worked for her mother. So what did Hodges do? She realized she didn’t know. The one person she didn’t know. There was something fishy about that because he certainly wasn’t homeless by any means. 

* * *

  
Several towns away Nick got out of his car and walked down a dark street towards an equally dark ally. It was Christmas Eve and in only one hour it would be Christmas and he’d be on his way back to Greg with their marriage papers in hand. He smiled at the thought and threw the black bag he carried over his shoulder until he reached the ally. He stepped into it and set the heavy bag on the ground between his feet, not taking his hand off it. 

This union with Greg was something he knew was worth more than the amount of his entire life savings, the total amount in the bag at his feet. He knew it wouldn’t help them to be short on money, but they had each other and that’s all they needed. And when Greg asked about the money Nick already had a ready excuse, knowing his boyfriend would freak out if he knew the truth of where it had gone. Greg wanted this union more than anything in the world, he just wouldn’t like having to pay off the man to get it done. He’d rather stay boyfriends forever than do that. 

“Nick?” a low voice asked from the mouth of the ally.

“Here.”

Someone joined him in the darkness and a small flashlight was brought out, the beam aimed at the bag. 

“Woody Speck,” the voice whispered. “You got the money?”

“You got the papers?” Nick asked, his heart jumping into his throat from excitement. 

The beam was raised up to a yellow mailing envelope. It was handed over to Nick and he opened it carefully, his heart hammering inside his chest. He pulled out several sheets of cream colored paper and scanned them quickly for authenticity. They were authentic alright, set on the one New Years Day when it had been legal for the two of them to get married. And there were their names written in fancy black ink: Gregory and Nicholas Sanders-Stokes. He felt the tears well up in his eyes as his chest filled with emotions he’d never felt before. He wanted to laugh, to cry, to jump for joy and scream out loud, to let the whole world know. But he couldn’t. At least not yet anyway. He tried to reign them in for the sake of the company he was keeping at the moment but it was hard as he clenched his jaw to keep from screaming. He handed the bag over to Woody and the beam of light went to it, as the man inspected the money. 

The light went out but Woody didn’t leave right away. 

“Tell Mandy and Wendy I said hi,” he finally whispered. “I wish you two had it as easy as they did when I did their papers.”

“Thanks. And I’ll tell them.”

“Well, it’s Christmas Eve. I’ve gotta get back to my family. Take care.”

And Nick was standing alone in the darkness, clutching the papers to his chest. He took several long deep breaths to calm himself down before he left the ally, looking both ways for safety’s sake and headed back to his car. He could just imagine the look of pure delight on Greg’s face when he got home and he couldn’t wait to see that beautiful smile on his boyfriend’s....no....husband’s face. Nick grinned at that thought alone. His husband. It sounded so good, so right. And he couldn’t wait for Greg to pounce on him the way he knew he would. 

* * *

  
Christmas morning dawned early and cloudy. Staring out the window, struggling to keep his eyes open after the long night, Greg saw small snowflakes just beginning to fall for the first time that year. Normally, by this time the whole state was covered in a foot of the white stuff, but this year had been different. It felt weird, almost ironic, that it should start to snow now as he sat tied to his bed, waiting for Nick to come home. Nick, who had no idea he was coming home to an ambush that was not his energetic lover. 

He looked over at Conrad Ecklie who sat in a chair one of the cops had drug in from the livingroom. The man was asleep, having gotten tired of waiting. But the one cop in the room was still awake having just relieved the previous cop. He stood at the window, his back to Greg, staring out into the falling snow, and Greg was jealous. Because the man was standing up, he had a perfect view of the road in front of the apartment building while Greg could only stare at the lone tree collecting snow. He would see Nick coming home first.

Greg’s stomach grumbled and he was reminded for the millionth time that he’d missed dinner at Catherine and Warrick’s the night before. He hoped they were alright and hadn’t been hurt on his account. But no one was talking about them so he didn’t know where they were or what had happened to them. After the pistol whipping Greg had stayed silent, staring at the comforter as he’d prayed for his friend’s and his lover’s safety. 

His back hurt from leaning against the headboard of the bed all afternoon and night. He tried to shift to get more comfortable again, but the barrel of the gun pressing into his chest did little to help. He’d been down this road many times throughout the night and nothing had helped thus far. The only thing he knew for certain, was that if he jolted his body to one side, shoving his hands in the other direction he could get a hold on the trigger of the riffle. Not that it would do him much good, but it was something at least. 

A soft vibrating sound came from his nightstand where he’d left his cell phone the night before. A text message waited for him. Before reading it he looked from the phone to Ecklie and the cop, but neither seemed to have heard it. He breathed a huge sigh of relief and read the message from where he sat: ‘Got papers, babe. Be home in 5.’

Greg’s eyes widened in fear at the knowledge he held. Nick was coming home. He’d done exactly as he’d said he would, and he’d done what Greg had told him to do. And now, suddenly, Greg found himself happy that he’d told him to text rather than call. A smile lit up his face as he realized he was now a married man, married to his one true love. It was something no one could take away from him, no matter how hard they tried or what they did. 

But the thought of Nick coming home happy expecting Greg to meet him at the door and finding this instead, chilled his heart in an instant. The words Ecklie had uttered the afternoon before had rung in his head over the many hours since and he was scared for Nick. Nothing could happen to his Nick. He didn’t want to see anything happen to him. He didn’t want Nick to have to see him tortured. He knew it would hurt him more than anything in the world. 

Greg looked down at the barrel of the riffle. If only one of them survived, there would be no point in torture. There was a chance Ecklie would let Nick go. Otherwise Nick would come in unaware, and there was no one to warn him. No one except Greg himself, the only one who knew when he was coming. He looked back at his cell phone. In two minutes Nick would be pulling into his parking space in the lot behind the building. And by now he had to be close enough to hear a warning gun shot. 

“This is how I wanted to go out,” he said out loud. 

Ecklie jumped to his feet and looked at Greg as the cop turned to face him, a questioning look on both their faces at his sudden words. 

“I wanted to go out of this world married to the man I love,” Greg clarified. 

His heart beat faster and harder within his chest, knowing what had to be done and praying it would work the way he wanted it to. He smiled, knowing Nick had gotten the papers they’d wanted, knowing he was now officially Gregory Sanders-Stokes. No tears came to his eyes. He was happy, despite his situation, because his dream had come true. 

“I love you Nicholas Sanders-Stokes,” Greg whispered, taking in one last scent of his husband from the sweatshirt he wore. 

He jerked his body to the left, his hands moved to the right, grasped the trigger and he squeezed with all his might. 

* * *

  
The dawn light was just beginning to show as Nick crossed the town border. It had begun to snow and he smiled. What a perfect Christmas it was going to be. He and Greg could curl up in front of the fireplace and watch the snow falling together, reveling in the fact that they were now officially married, whether Ecklie wanted them to be or not. He tiredly brought the car over to the side of the road and pulled out his cell phone. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he sent a quick text message to Greg like he said he would: ‘Got papers, babe. Be home in 5.’

He knew he shouldn’t have driven all night in his tired state, but he was still excited to see Greg again and share in their union. He grinned. Only five more minutes to go until he was back in the arms of his lover. 

Bringing the car back onto the road he drove on for a few more minutes until a loud gun shot rent through the air. He slammed on the brakes and sat there on the empty road, his mind running wild with crazy thoughts. Sure he was packing heat, but he wasn’t a police officer any more and there was nothing he could do in that sense. But the shot had been close by. Very close by. And his apartment building was just around the corner. 

With his brain still in a slight fog from lack of sleep he picked up his cell phone intent on calling Jim Brass. But before he could call the phone vibrated with an incoming text message: ‘Get the hell out of town.’ He stopped, staring at the message, when a second one came in: ‘Call u when clear - Linds.’

Without thinking for another second the car lurched forward and he spun into a u-turn and sped back the way he had come to the next town over. Finding a dingy motel as far away from the main roads as possible he parked in the back and turned the engine off. 

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach and he yelled at himself for running away from the situation like a scared kid. But the truth was, he wasn’t a cop anymore. There was nothing he could have done. But he could have called Brass. And then he remembered the other reason he’d run. The two text messages from Lindsay. Why had she sent them to him? He’d never known her to use words like that. She was a sweet kid and smart. Maybe she knew what was going on. Maybe she’d meant to warn him about something? His brain was still fuzzy from the lack of sleep and excitement he’d endured the night before and he couldn’t wrap his mind around the situation. He shouldn’t have run away. What if it had been Greg that was in trouble? What they were doing was dangerous and even though they’d taken every precaution to stay safe the truth could have leaked out somewhere. 

Shaking he pulled out his phone and sent a text back to Lindsay asking what happened. He sent one to Warrick as well but he was too afraid to contact Greg. If something had happened to him he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. 

“Oh, God, please let Greg be ok. Let Greg be ok. He has to be ok. I love him. Greg, I love you, please be ok,” he pleaded into the steering wheel. 

* * *

  
Lindsay could barely feel her numb legs beneath her as she’d been sitting on the floor all night. She hadn’t complained. She wasn’t a complainer. Instead, she did her best to stay awake and continue keeping an eye on everyone. Now, on Christmas morning, most of them were struggling to stay awake while a few others nodded off. Hodges was in the latter group, being the first to nod off. In fact, after his furtive study after being brought in he’d chosen to fall asleep. Sure he’d woken up a few times, shook his head to clear it, looked around at the group on the floor before looking up imploringly at one of the cops standing over them. Each time the cop would shake his head and Hodges would fall back asleep again, willingly, like none of this matter too much, like he knew he would walk away without a scratch. 

It was obvious he didn’t belong with the group tied up on the floor but rather with the cops. He’d been the snitch. Lindsay knew that now. None of the others would have told a soul that Nick was leaving or why. Even Sara who always seemed so angry at the world. She was good at keeping secrets. Especially when they concerned chocolate chip cookies Lindsay’s mom refused to buy her. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall right into place. 

Peering out the window into the cloud filled sky of dawn she could just see the first few snowflakes of the year beginning to fall. She stared, wondering how God could think of such a beautiful thing when such a horrible crime was happening on earth. It made her want to go up there and smack him senseless, but she resisted the urge. There was a good reason for the snow. Nick was coming home to his Greg and everything would turn into a Happily Ever After Disney ending. 

Then, one floor below them, a gun shot screamed through the air and everyone’s heads shot up, even the officers looked startled. Lindsay looked up at the front door for a moment, in shock, then around at everyone else to see the same shock registering on their faces as well. She bowed her head as a single tear slipped down her face. He’d been alone and vulnerable, and she knew that Greg was gone. 

She knew Nick had no one to warn him and thinking quickly she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and began feeling for the correct buttons to send an urgent text. She was glad she had Nick on speed dial, remembering when she’d had problems with a bully one day after school the year before. Nick, still a police officer at the time, had been right around the corner when the scuffle had broken out and arrived within seconds, saving Lindsay from a nasty beating, and giving the kid such a talking to she secretly hoped he’d gone home and cried to his mother after peeing his pants on the way. After the boy had run away Nick had given her his cell phone number in case she ever needed backup again. She smiled at the memory. The boy had never bothered her again and seemed to do his best to stay as far away from her as possible these days. 

She loved the fact that Nick had used a police term, calling himself her backup. He knew she was going into law enforcement even before Warrick or Greg had known. He’d been the first to know. The first person she’d ever told. And he’d been supportive right from the start. She wanted to be just like him when she grew up. Though she was planning on adding a little chemistry and other sciences to the mix, it was still Nick she thought of when she pictured her future. Though Greg was the one with the science degree so maybe she would end up a little of them both in the end. 

Hitting the send button on her phone for the second time she knew she was only returning the favor, becoming Nick’s backup in his time of need. She closed her phone and tried to slip it back into her back pocket again, but she was still sitting down and the pocket wouldn’t open for the phone. Before she knew what was happening a large, rough hand reached behind her and grabbed the phone from her. She looked up into the angry eyes of one of the officers. 

“Trying to call out for help are you?” he sneered. “Sorry, but you can’t. Johnny, collect all phones. Hodges too,” Officer Ken said as he walked over to the garbage and dumped her phone inside. 

Starting with Warrick, Johnny began patting everyone down and emptying their pockets into the garbage that Ken carried as they went. Everything from wallets to keys were also thrown in along with any phones they found. 

“You know this is wrong. I’m on the payroll!” Hodges complained. “The same as Eddie. Yet he gets to walk around free as a freakin’ bird!” 

Her father! Lindsay looked at her mother and step-father for their reactions and found them both staring intently at the other man who couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut. 

“Shut the hell up, will ya? Or else you’re gonna be off the payroll!”

Hodges was so dumb he was as obvious as a romantic comedy stuck in amongst the horror flicks at the video rental store. So he was being paid to spill his guts on the close knit group of friends and her father was in on it too. Lindsay vowed she’d get them both back for that someday. Greg was dead because of them. 

She looked around at everyone else, and the emotions lingering on their faces and in the air were a mix of sadness, hope, and despair. No one seemed sure what had happened, if anyone was dead, or even if the gun had been aimed at someone to begin with. For all they seemed to know it could have been a car backfiring in the swirling snow outside. 

Lindsay knew that if she’d been rational about the text she’d sent to Nick she would have told him to get Brass. But she knew what she’d told him was the most rational out of anything she could have told him. So, Jim and Sophia weren’t there, so they’d always seemed to be on the level, there was this small possibility they weren’t. Maybe they were orchestrating this whole thing from far away to keep themselves safe and out of harms way, keeping themselves in the good graces of their friends. Lindsay didn’t really believe that, but one couldn’t ignore all possibilities in a situation like this. However, even if they were on the level, she was sure there were other cops on the streets looking out for Nick’s arrival who weren’t. And she knew the moment they saw him, they would bring him down and it would all be over. She was saving Nick’s life by sending him away. She could only hope her plan would work. It was too late for Greg, but Nick still had a long life ahead of him. 

The front door to the apartment opened with a loud bang and Conrad Ecklie himself walked in. He hardly looked surprised as he scanned the room of faces and stopped at Al. 

“Doc,” he nodded. “There’s been an accident. I need you to come with me,” he said cool and calm as if it was only a five year old who’d fell off his bike and scraped his knee. 

With a grim look, Al nodded back. 

“Un cuff him and get him his cane,” Ecklie demanded an officer. 

The two of them disappeared out the door a few minutes later leaving everyone else to stare at each other. Everyone else except Hodges of course. 

It didn’t take long before the doctor was back. His grim face was even grimmer as he allowed himself to be handcuffed behind his back again. 

All eyes were on him as he began to speak, “He’s gone,” he said quietly and no one had to ask who he meant. “It was a suicide. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to. The blood spatter was consistent. It doesn’t take a trained CSI or a cop to figure it out either. No one else could have been there and done it. I’m sorry.”

Everyone’s face fell and Lindsay could see tears running down a few faces, anger heating up in a few others. She turned to the window and watched the white swirls of perfect snowflakes drift past in lazy patterns. 

“Nick sent him a text message no that long ago,” Al said once he’d gotten seated. “The phone was near enough that he could read it.”

Lindsay could picture her mother’s face as white as a sheet, but didn’t turn to look. She stared out at the snow while she listened to Al, taking it all in and adding it to the puzzle she was putting together. 

“He said he’d gotten the papers and that he’d be home in five minutes.” 

And the pieces fit into place, just like she knew they would. Greg had warned Nick away with his own suicide. He’d managed to save his husband’s life by taking his own. And her text message, she hoped, would have warned away the cop sense in him to find the crime scene and the killer that Greg’s shot might have caused to stir. 

“According to Conrad, Greg has no other family, so he said he’d get the obituary in the paper himself as soon as possible.” 

Watching the snow fall heavier and heavier outside Lindsay knew what that meant. Sure Nick had gotten away now, but if he saw that obituary, it was sure to bring him right back there, right into Ecklie’s tight little fist, right where he wanted him. 

A slow tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek. Nick had gotten the papers which meant that he and Greg were officially married even though Gil Grissom hadn’t given the official ceremony yet. She was happy that Greg had at least gotten what he wanted most in his life before he’d left the world. 

“Don’t worry,” she whispered to the falling snow. “I’ll take care of him for you, Greg. I promise.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is the final chapter. And yes, even though there is some action and crime solving going on, you will still need that extra large box of Kleenex at the end. I’m sorry. But please enjoy and don’t forget to review. Let me know what you thought, please, and thanks!

Nick paced the length of the hotel room he’d gotten for the night. His hands were balled into tight fists, his knuckles white in anger. His cell phone sat innocently on the table a few feet away and he stared at it on his return pacing over to the window. He’d been calling Warrick ten times an hour but so far he’d gotten no response and he couldn’t figure out why. He’d figured if anyone knew anything it would have been him. Lindsay hadn’t sent a return text either and he’d been anxious all night. And the last person he’d called, the man he now shared a last name with, hadn’t picked up the phone so he knew something horrible had happened. He hoped it was something minor. Perhaps Warrick had simply had an accident and they’d all had to rush him to the hospital and Greg had forgotten his phone. But, if it was simple...shouldn’t they have been back by now? And if not, he knew Greg had been looking forward for his return, wouldn’t he have gone back home to get his phone or to wait for Nick? 

The sound of the gunshot rang in his ears the same as it had all night while he paced and wondered the same things over and over again. Of course, he hadn’t gotten any more sleep this night than he had the night before on his drive back to Greg. He was too shaken because he knew whatever had happened had hit close to home. Even if he had still been a cop he wasn’t sure his brain could function enough to know what to do. Never before had something like this happened. Before Greg had moved to his small town being a cop was easy because there was no one he cared about the way he cared about Greg. And nothing horrible had ever really happened either. There were never huge shoot outs or gang bangers beating people up on street corners for fun. They’d never had stalkers, or weird people who committed violent acts just because they could. It was a small town that hardly deserved such a large police force for its small numbers. 

But now, something had happened, something huge that involved his one and only Greg. And he couldn’t let that escape. He didn’t know what had happened or if his brain was high functioning enough to be of any use, but he knew he had to go back. No matter what. But wouldn’t Ecklie have men looking for him? If something had happened to Greg then yes. But chances were good that Greg was fine. He had to tell himself that over and over in order to keep calm. Greg was fine and he just had to either wait to hear something from Warrick or carefully plan how he was going to get back to their apartment and get Greg out of there safely. 

He smiled at that thought, resting his left hand on the holster at his hip. He was prepared. He just had to get Greg out. They could get jobs somewhere else far away, build a new life for themselves, and everything would be ok. Grabbing the phone from the table and clipping it to his belt he picked up his over night bag and left to check out and find some breakfast so that he could plan the mission. 

At a small table for two in the restaurant next door to the old motel he pulled out the envelope from his bag while he waited for his eggs to arrive. He looked at the papers, seeing their names in the fancy font again. His eyes welled up with tears and he had to fight hard to keep them from falling. His heart was aching to see Greg again to have his lover pounce on him when he walked through their door. All he ever wanted since that day he’d caught the young man for speeding was to be his forever. To be able to sleep in his arms every night, to be there for him whenever he needed it. And right now, Greg needed him. 

“You’ve got a sour face,” a small, rotund man commented as he stopped at Nick’s table on his way out the front door. “Here, read the paper. It might help to cheer you up some.”

The man threw that morning’s paper on the table in front of Nick. 

“But I doubt it. Some chemistry teacher committed suicide next town over. And to think I was going to send my kids there next year!”

The man shook his head as he ambled away and Nick turned his shock filled eyes toward the heading on the front page of the local paper:   
Chemistry Teacher Commits Suicide  
Gregory Sanders-Stokes, chemistry teacher at Johnston High School committed suicide early Christmas morning, though close friends were clueless as to why. 

Nick stared at the paper, unable to move, just letting the waves of emotions flow over him. Greg was gone. His Greg was dead...by his own hand. But why? He’d seemed so happy before. He’d wanted Nick to come back, hadn’t he? He’d been worried about Nick carrying but that wasn’t something one committed suicide over. Was it? It didn’t make sense. Had he been dead when Nick had sent him the text? Why? Why? Why? Why Greg? What had happened to make him want to do this? 

Tears flooded his eyes but refused to fall as he felt his life slowly crumbling away from him, falling apart. He’d lost his job and that had been hard, but Greg had been there with him. But now Greg was gone too, everything he’d lived for gone forever. 

And then it suddenly made sense. The gun shot. He heard it again in his mind and his heart cracked in two at the sound, knowing full well that the shot had come after his text. He’d heard the shot that had killed Greg. He’d been so damn close. If he’d rushed home instead of running away there was a chance he could have saved him. Or at least he could have been there to say goodbye, to hold the love of his life one last time. He knew now he should have listened to Greg. The man hadn’t been worried for nothing after all. The papers hadn’t been worth it. They could have been together forever just the same without them. And that’s all that really mattered. 

He looked at the headline again and saw Greg’s name written out the way it was on the marriage papers Nick still held in his hand. Of course he’d sent the text that he’d gotten the papers. If their friends had seen that they would have known the name change was official. But things still didn’t add up. He’d been calling them nonstop all night. He’d called Greg’s phone too. Wouldn’t someone have picked up? Were they avoiding him because they didn’t want to have to explain what had happened to him? They’d known when he was coming back so why didn’t they call when he didn’t show up? Were they not worried about him? 

Then he saw it underneath the title a short line that said it all: “A Special Report by Conrad Ecklie”. Rage suddenly filled every fiber of his every being and he sprang to his feet, knocking over the waitress who was carrying his plate of eggs. Completely ignoring her and the mess all over the floor he grabbed the newspaper and clutched the marriage papers in his hand as he tore out of the restaurant to his car. 

* * *

  
Lindsay still sat on the floor against her doorframe, her starving stomach growling as the cops keeping watch ravaged her parents refrigerator. Her butt hurt from sitting down so long and she had to keep shifting her legs to keep the blood circulating so they wouldn’t fall asleep. Everyone sitting on the floor looked just as tired as she felt. Archie, Sara, David, and Gil had fallen asleep a few times recently but they hadn’t slept well. Lindsay guessed they’d been having nightmares the way they woke with a start and did their best to keep their eyes open for awhile before they eventually fell closed again. The others, like herself, had stayed awake most of the time, hardly sleeping at all. Warrick had told her to use his arm as a head rest and get some sleep a long time ago, but she’d politely refused. She wasn’t about to shirk on her watch duties. Captain Brass would want those details she had stored away in her brain, and she had plenty of room for the rest she knew would be coming. 

Leaning forward so that she could see her mother Lindsay saw the running mascara that meant she’d been crying. But rather than make her look sad it only made her look formidable and angry. The girl gave a warm smile to her and Catherine gave her a shaky one back. 

Sitting at the table one cop was playing with something in his hands, though Lindsay couldn’t see what it was. It was making a metallic clinking sound as he raised it up two inches from the table and dropped it repeatedly, covering it with his hand each time. He looked bored. They all did. Even though they were being relieved every few hours and they seemed to enjoy what they were doing they still looked like they’d rather be home with their own families or curled up in bed sound asleep with pleasant dreams. 

The front door opened with a bang and Ecklie walked in with her father trailing behind, a large riffle covered in blood in his hands. No doubt the same riffle that had killed Greg. Lindsay shuddered at the thought. 

“Nick’s car has been spotted coming back into town,” he told the cops in the room. “Eddie’s staying here to keep these people quiet. I need all of you outside. Now.”

Ecklie turned on his heel and left without another word. The others followed him out and Eddie sat down, not even bothering to look at any of the hostages. 

Nick was coming back! That meant he would need backup but backup didn’t exist for him unless Jim and Sophia suddenly knew what was going on, were truly on their side and could get to him in time. Otherwise, Lindsay would have to work up an escape plan for herself and everyone else. Nick needed them! And fast!

She leaned back against the doorframe to let her mind come up with a plan when her hands rubbed against the splintered wood. A memory flashed through her thoughts of catching her pajama bottoms on that splintered wood many times before. It had always irked her and Warrick had promised that he would get it fixed but time hadn’t allowed for it yet. Now she was grateful as she felt the thin rope tying her hands together. Her nightstand sat just inside the doorway and on it, on the edge closest the door sat the Swiss Army knife Warrick had gotten her for her birthday not that long ago. 

Checking to make sure her real father wasn’t paying her any attention she began to rub the rope through the severely splintered wood and felt the cords beginning to snap. As she worked she remembered her mother’s reaction to the knife telling Warrick to take it back that it was no present for a young girl. But Lindsay had loved it, and treasured it always. She was sure her Mom would change her mind about it now. The rope snapped apart and she looked again at Eddie. But he was staring at the opposite wall, looking thrilled to be there. 

Quickly she reached around behind her, into her room and her hand hit the nightstand. She cursed silently and then begged forgiveness for such a word as she found the edge and felt her way along it until she bumped something and it fell to the floor. Eddie still wasn’t paying attention as she changed tactics and began feeling around the floor for the knife that had fallen. Her hand closed over it and elation claimed her hammering heart. A smile spread across her face as she brought the knife around the corner behind her back. 

“You ok?” her step-father asked, concern in his voice.   
Without a word she slipped the knife into his hand and looked up into his face. A smile began to spread there as he understood immediately what she’d been doing. She kept an eye on Eddie as she heard the faint click of one of the knives coming out of the case and the whispering of the blade against the rope that held Warrick’s hands behind his back. 

Eddie was still clueless as the Swiss Army knife fell to the carpet and Warrick jumped to his feet. He staggered a little after having been forced to sit on the floor for hours, but regained his balance within moments and jumped on a wide-eyed Eddie, tackling him to the floor so he couldn’t get away or call for help. 

Lindsay got up and ran to the table. Details would help them, she’d always known and the cop who’d been playing with something at the table had been dumb enough to leave it behind. 

“Who’s got handcuffs on?” she called out, dangling the set of keys in the air. 

Her mother was the first to get up with a struggle. Lindsay unlocked the cuffs and set her free as Mandy, Wendy, and Hodges stood up. From the corner of her eye as she approached Mandy with the keys she saw her Mom start to attack Eddie with a vicious force while Warrick held him still, his hands now handcuffed behind his back. 

“Lindsay, don’t watch,” her step-father warned as Catherine threw punch after punch at her ex, while slurring swearwords to his ears. 

The man’s nose was now bloody and broken and the look of shock on his face was something Lindsay would never forget. She smiled a wide grin knowing the man was getting everything he deserved for his cheating ways. She turned back to Mandy and took the cuffs off her as everyone else stood up. Mandy grabbed the knife from the floor and began slicing the bonds of the others who had been tied with rope. 

Within minutes everyone was free except Hodges. Lindsay stood in front of him, a menacing look on her face as she dangled the keys in front of her. 

“Too bad you don’t get the freedom we do,” she snarled at him. 

“Lindsay, what are you doing?” Bobby asked. 

“He’s guilty. You can’t see the signs? He’s on Ecklie’s payroll the same as Eddie,” she spat her father’s name as she saw Warrick finally hauling Catherine off him. “He was being paid to snitch on us, to tell the Devil when Nick was going to get those papers. He and Greg only told us. No one else could have known. He snitched!”

Hodges looked at his feet, a guilty look covering his face. 

She turned round to face everyone else and dawning came into their faces as they suddenly began to understand what she’d known all along. 

“I take back what I said the other day,” Warrick said, joining the group with his wife. “You can watch all the CSI episodes you want. I think you’ll make a fine cop someday.”

“And you’ve already got the handcuff thing down,” Archie said with a small grin.

“What CSI episodes? What are you talking about?” Catherine asked.

“Nothing, honey.” 

“Look guys,” Lindsay spoke up. “Nick’s out there. He needs backup and we’re the only ones who can help him!”

“Right, but what about all those cops? We can’t just... we have no weapons.... nothing... what can we do against them?” Sara asked. 

“You don’t think I keep my entire arsenal at the store do you?” Bobby asked. “Come on, I’ve got enough guns and ammo for each of you.”

As they turned to the door Archie took the bloody riffle from Warrick. “Someone’s got to look after these two until you get back.”

“Right,” her step-father nodded and everyone set off down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment building they all lived in. 

Bobby’s small apartment was only two doors down from Nick and Greg’s and Lindsay knew they would have to pass the one to get to the other. But a shaft of light coming out of an open door stopped them all. The other apartment door was wide open. Seeing no immediate danger Lindsay wrenched from Warrick’s grasp and dashed into the apartment. The livingroom and kitchen were empty. The bedroom, however, was not. She stopped dead in her tracks and stifled a scream and then the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. 

Blood... she saw a lot of blood... there seemed to be so much... and no one had touched Greg’s body. He’d been handcuffed to the bed and when the gun had gone off his body had jerked in one direction and his hands in another. But something wasn’t right about the situation. There were loose ropes around his chest that weren’t tied tight to the bed. If he hadn’t been moved, or touched, why were the ropes loose? And then she thought of the bloody riffle. Greg’s hands were still tied behind his back, so it couldn’t have been a willing suicide. But it had been a suicide. Al had said so in a tone that meant he was telling the truth and hadn’t been told to lie. 

Lindsay moved to the foot of the bed and faced Greg. His right hand looked like rigor mortis had set in before the gun had been removed from his grasp. He was still clutching the trigger, even in death. She took a careful look at the blood spatter and the location of his trigger hand. And the rope that had once been bound tight to him. A gun had been there, the long riffle had been tied to him. 

A flash of a memory came back to her of a poem she’d read in school the year before. This was like that poem, though she couldn’t remember the title or the poet who’d penned the long piece. She remembered that a woman had killed herself to warn away her lover from his own death. 

Seeing Greg’s cell phone on the nightstand she went to it. Nick had called earlier that morning. But hadn’t left a message. And then she saw the text. She looked back at Greg, up into his face. He was smiling as if in a sleepy dream about his husband, Nick. He’d known Nick was coming back with the papers. He’d been held hostage just as she’d thought. He’d gotten the text and he had indeed shot himself to save Nick’s life. He’d been brave. He was a hero for his selflessness to save someone else. And he’d died a happy man, married to the one he loved the most. She fought the tears back again. Nick needed backup and it would do no good if that backup was blubbering away like a child who’d gotten lost from her mother. 

The others had since come in and a few tears were being shed over their loss. But Lindsay would have none of it. 

“No crying, Mom. Please! Now is not the time!”

Catherine stopped and stared at her daughter. “Since when did you become a grownup? And all serious and cop-like?”

“Since this happened. And since Nick needs our help. Ecklie was using Greg as bait for Nick to bring him back here so he could probably kill them both. He had a riffle tied to Greg. But Nick sent him a text saying he’d gotten the papers and would be back soon. The others probably didn’t hear the text come in. Phone’s on vibrate. Greg saw it, and shot himself as a warning to keep Nick away. I sent Nick a text before my phone was taken away telling him to get the hell out of here and that I would call him when it was clear. He listened well until he probably read the paper with the obit in it. Ecklie would have made that loud and proud on the front page. And now he’s coming back to avenge Greg’s death. And we need to be out there to help him!”

The adults stared at her, surprise and shock covering their faces. 

“She’s right,” Al said. “The riffle was tied to him.”

“Let’s move! Nick needs backup! Now!”

Lindsay barged her way through the group, still struggling to keep her tears at bay. Once this was over she would allow herself to find a corner and bawl her eyes out. But not now. Now was not the time. Everyone followed her to Bobby’s place where he gave each of them a riffle or a pistol based on their preferences. Lindsay held out her small hands at the end of the line. 

“Sorry Linds. You know I can’t.”

She sighed and let her hands fall to her sides. She’d expected as much. 

Gil held his riffle and looked at it carefully, unsure he really wanted to be holding such a thing. Lindsay couldn’t blame him much. He was the Shepherd after all. But who of them really wanted to be doing this anyway? 

“Ok, let’s move!” Mandy called out, and they headed back to their apartment on the first floor. 

Once back at the apartment new decisions were made. 

“I’ll keep watch here, over these two and Lindsay with David,” Al said. “You’ll need us after the battle, no matter what the outcome, I’m sure. And someone needs to keep watch here make sure none of them come back.”

Warrick nodded in agreement with the others. 

“But, Al, I could be useful out there!” David protested. 

“Yes, you could be. After the fact. I will need your help. You will be useful here in the mean time as well.”

David’s shoulders slumped but he seemed in agreement. 

“I’ll stay here too,” Gil said. “Fighting is not my thing. If it comes to it, I’ll do it.”

“Sure Shepherd. But we can’t spare anyone else. So, let’s go!” Warrick took easy control and everyone followed him out the front door. 

* * *

  
The rage that had coursed through Nick earlier at the restaurant was nothing compared to how he felt now. His love was dead because of that pile of dung called Ecklie. There was no name that would be fitting enough for the man. Nick gripped the steering wheel until his whole hands were white. Upon getting into the car he hadn’t even bothered to let the papers in his hands go. Now, he drove with them still in his hands. As he sped back to town he looked down every few minutes to see the names on the paper. Gregory and Nicholas Sanders-Stokes. Ecklie wouldn’t get away with it. Never would the man walk again. 

The snow that had begun to fall the morning before was still falling now though he could easily see through the light, small flakes. And though the ground was covered in a foot of snow the road had been plowed recently so the driving was easy for his fast pace. 

A darkness glinted in his eyes as he rounded the final corner and his apartment building came into view. A wall of police officers, people he’d once worked with proudly, stood on the road waiting for him, Conrad Ecklie in the middle, standing a foot in front of the others. He hit the brakes hard and the car came to a sudden halt. With his free right hand he unsnapped his holster and brought up his weapon. His one time friends were already armed and ready and he knew what was going to happen before it did. They were just waiting for his cue, his signal, and he knew it was time. 

Still grasping the papers in his left hand he opened the door and shoved it out of his way as he jumped clear of the car and fired his gun. He saw Ecklie fall, before blood spurted from his own bullet riddled body. His knees grew week and he fell to the ground, seeing the hazy forms of the officers coming towards him, their riffles smoking. He thought he saw Catherine brandishing a large gun running towards the cops, but he wasn’t sure. It had happened so fast... Everything was going hazy and the pain in his chest was too heavy for him to bear...

I love you Gregory Sanders-Stokes... 

* * *

  
“Dear Lord, please keep us all safe on this, our darkest day. And please, bring Nick home safely,” Lindsay listened to Gil pray while she watched the fight from the livingroom window between Al and David. She saw Nick’s car come to a sudden halt and Nick get out. He was carrying something in his hand, but she couldn’t tell what. She wished she could have been out there to help him, he needed his backup, but she’d done all she could and he had the others now, rushing out to him. Ecklie was suddenly falling and then a volley of bullets sounded and she saw Nick go down. She covered her eyes and held the scream in. She hadn’t wanted to see that. Tears coursed down her face. It was over. Nick was gone. She knew it. She’d done her best. But her best hadn’t been good enough. David turned and sank down on the couch beside her and put a comforting arm around her. She shrugged him off and stood up to go to her room. 

“I’m getting my teddy bear,” she said in a defeated tone. 

They let her go. 

A fine cop she’d make some day, or CSI, if she couldn’t even save Nick now. She sighed as she sat on her bed and curled up with the bear she hadn’t slept with in years. 

She had two windows in her room. One faced a wall of trees on the side of the building, while the other faced the front. She felt herself drawn to the front window and saw that the fight was ending. Another car was approaching and both Jim and Sophia were getting out. Relief flowed through her, that they were finally there. But it sank again when she thought of Nick. How she’d promised Greg to take care of him, to keep him safe and alive. 

Her eyes sought out Nick’s fallen body beside his car and she saw papers flying out of his hand. She jumped out of bed and ran for the side window, thrusting it open and jumping through, without a seconds thought, and made a mad dash toward her “partner” but stopped not far from her window when she heard the sound of a dying cell phone, and another announcing an incoming text message. Yet another claimed to have a voicemail waiting for its owner. She looked around and saw a black garbage bag leaning against the wall beside the garbage can. So this was where all of their phones had gone. She hoped hers wasn’t one of those with a text or voicemail waiting from Nick. But she knew there was another time and place to be thinking of trivial things like that. She looked back up toward the fight and began her mad dash again. 

As she ran she heard Jim’s loud voice carry through the falling snow to her ears, “This jerk here had the two of us so deep in paperwork we had no idea what was going on! We heard the shot yesterday, and Jake said everything was under control that it was just Bobby mishandling a gun!” 

Now Lindsay knew what people meant when they said someone was seeing the color red. Captain Brass’s face was as red as the skin of an apple. And she wasn’t thinking of a Granny Smith. He kneeled down to Ecklie’s fallen body and spoke again, giving him a few choice words before the body went limp in death. Sophia was already handcuffing the few police officers who were left standing. The others were either dead or injured as her step-father, mother, and friends stood around them to make sure they didn’t go anywhere. 

Lindsay turned her attention back on Nick as the loose papers swirled around in the wind. She struggled to catch them all before she got to his fallen body. She reached high in the air for the last one and brought it down on the pile. She knew what she had in her hands. These papers were the reason Greg and Nick were both dead. She read the names in large fancy print on the first page, Gregory and Nicholas Sanders-Stokes, and a tear fell from her eyes. She shoved them into the envelope she’d found and held it to her chest as she approached Nick. 

Still lying near his body was that morning’s local newspaper and she saw the headline. Of course, she’d been right again. Ecklie had indeed made Greg’s suicide a loud and proud statement on the front page. He’d known Nick would come back to avenge his lover’s death. And he’d been waiting for him.

Nick’s face was a mixture of emotions. She saw anger, sadness, and, above all else, she saw love. Reaching for his still hand, she grasped it tightly in her own. She knew his last thoughts had been of Greg, and it made her happy, despite the circumstances. She clutched their marriage papers closer to her chest.

“I promise I’ll look after these for both of you,” she said, as tears fell from her eyes. “And I promise I won’t fail this time. At least you two can be happy now, together, where no one can hate you for it.”

She looked up into the snow filled sky.

“It’s snowing for you,” Lindsay whispered. “Heaven is crying the most beautiful tears just for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I claim all mistakes, as I edit my own work and did this one at 2am, too excited to wait for the next day. If you see anything glaring that needs fixing, let me know. Also, please post a comment, I feed off of them! And I would love to know what you think so far!


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